Tier 4 Visa Extension in the UK

Important news

Visa application fees

The Tier 4 visa application fee for application made from inside the UK will be increasing in April 2015. Any applications that are submitted online on or after 6th April 2015 will be charged £439 per person. Tier 4 Dependents applying from inside the UK will also have to pay an application fee of £439 per person.

Immigration Health Charge

UK Visas and Immigration will be introducing an Immigration Health Charge in April 2015. All Tier 4 applications submitted on or after will have to pay an additional up front fee of £150 for each year that their visa will last for. Tier 4 Dependants will have to pay an additional up front fee of £200 of £200 for each year that their visa will last for. We do not have any details yet about how and when the charge needs to be paid but we will update this web page as soon as we have more information.

You need 40 points: 30 points are awarded for having a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) and 10 Points are awarded for having the correct level of funds available.

You can check that you have sufficient points to be granted entry to the UK before you make your application by checking using the UKVI self assessment tool. You will need to scroll to the bottom of the page and select "start self assessment".

A CAS is a Confirmation of Acceptance for Study: a unique code which links you to Aston University on the UK Border Agency database. Your CAS confirms that Aston University is your educational "sponsor".

If you are already enrolled as a student at Aston University, then the immigration advisers in the Advice Zone will be able to arrange a CAS for you. You will need to complete the online pre-CAS questionnaire about your previous studies in the UK and will also need to show that you have enough money available to meet the requirements for a Tier 4 General visa.

If you need a CAS number for a new course at Aston University it will be provided by the admissions staff in your Academic School at Aston University.

CAS numbers must be no more than six months old on the date you apply for your visa.

You will need to show that you have enough money available to cover your living costs and tuition fees for your course. You will need to show that this money has been available to you throughout a continuous 28 day period that ends no more than one month before you apply for your visa. The money must be held in an account in your name and this includes joint accounts. You can also use money held in your parents' bank accounts but you will need to send your original birth certificate (which must show your parents' names) and an original signed and dated letter from your parent(s) confirming they are your parent(s) and they consent to their money being used to fund your UK studies. Please note: this can be very difficult and we strongly advise that you arrange for your money to be held in an account in your name.

If you already have a Tier 4 General visa and are applying for a visa extension then you will probably need to show that you have at least £1,640 (this amount many in crease in the next couple of months) available to you for living costs. If you have completed less than 6 months of your current course at Aston University, have just completed a course of less than six months' duration or did not complete the last course you were studying then you may need to show that you have £7,380 (this amount may increase in the next couple of months) available to you for living costs.

►We recommend that you keep your maintenance money in your account whilst you are waiting for your visa application to be considered.

Tuition fees: you must be able to prove you have either paid your tuition fees in full or that the remaining fees owed to the University are in your bank account.

University accommodation fees: If you pay money to Aston University for accommodation fees then we can include this information on your CAS. The UKBA will be able to take up to £1020 of your accommodation fee payments into account which will reduce the amount of money you need to show in your bank account for living costs.

Example bank statement: We now have an example copy of what your bank statements should include. Please note this is an example and must not be used with any visa application.

An original printed personal bank statement, no more than one month old, in your name OR

An original printed personal bank statement, no more than one month old, in your parents' name. You must also supply your birth certificate and an original signed and dated letter from your parent(s) confirming they are your parent(s) and they consent to their money being used to fund your UK studies OR

There are other methods but the above options are the most common. Contact us for information if you are a sponsored student.

The UKVI has strict guidelines about the format for your bank statements. If the bank statement is printed in a Branch (ad hoc) then it needs to be printed on letter headed paper. Electronic bank statements printed from an internet banking account can be accepted but they will need to be stamped by the bank on every single page.

In all cases statements must include the following information:

Transactions covering at least 28 days.

The name of the account holder.

The full account number.

The Bank's name and logo.

The amount of money available.

Any financial documents which do not fulfil these requirements may not be accepted by the UKVI and could result in your visa application being confused.

You must provide professional translations of documents which are not written in English.

If your bank account is not in the UK, you must include a conversion of the closing balance to Sterling quoting the OANDA website and the exchange rate that applies on the day you submit your online application. You will also need to provide an official translation of your bank statement.

UKVI will only accept evidence from some banks in India, Cameroon, Ghana, Pakistan, Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Iran. UKVI has published lists of institutions in those countries that do satisfactorily verify financial statements. Please contact us if your money is in a bank account in one of these countries and we will check the UKVI list for you.

Students from some nationalities considered to be "low risk" may not need to send every document with their application.Evidence is always required but not always requested, so please contact us before you send your application if you think this applies to you.

Example bank statement: We now have an example copy of what your bank statements should include. Please note this is an example and must not be used with any visa application.

If you want to send your application by post, you will need to complete a "Tier 4 (General) on-line application". You will need to create an account for the UKVI online application system and complete the Tier 4 General on-line application. You can find a completed example which will help you to complete the application here. It is very important that you check that all of the information in your online application form is correct. It may not be possible to make changes after the application has been submitted!

You will need to arrange an appointment to see an immigration adviser at The Hub Advice Zone so that we can check your application and arrange a CAS for you. You will need to complete the online Pre-CAS questionnaire. You will also need to bring your login details and the following documents with you to your appointment with your immigration adviser:

Your current passport and any other passports that you have used to travel to the UK

Your Biometric Residence Permit, if you have one (this is your visa ID card).

Your Police Registration Certificate (only if you are required to register with the police).

Two recent identical colour passport sized photos with your name written on the back.

Your bank statements or other financial evidence

Any qualifications that you used as the basis for your offer to study at Aston (only if you are applying for a visa for a new course or have not yet completed 6 months of your current course)

If you will be applying by post the we will normally send your application through our Check and Send service. This is a special scheme that is run between UKVI and Universities across the UK. The responsibility for completing the form and supplying the correct documents is still yours, but an International Student Adviser will check your application and send it by recorded delivery to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). We will then act as your contact for the application. The person making the decision at the UKVI may contact us if they have any questions about your application before they make their decision.

After your International Student Adviser has checked your online application, documents and Pre-CAS questionnaire they will arrange CAS for you and ask to you make another appointment to submit your online application and hand in your documents. We will send your documents to UKVI by recorded delivery with a printed and signed copy of your application cover sheet.

Your documents, passport/s and new visa will be returned to The Hub Advice Zone, and we will email you when they have arrived. The letter from UKVI inviting you to attend a post office to give your biometric details may still come to your current address, as given on your application form but we will contact you by email if the letter is sent to The Hub Advice Zone.

There were changes made to the Immigration Rules some time ago to allow UK Visas and Immigration to introduce credibility interviews as part of the Tier 4 application process. Not all students will be asked to attend these interviews and applicants are randomly selected. If you are asked to attend a credibility interview, please do not as it does not mean that there is a problem with your application. During the interview you could be asked questions about your application, your studies and your life in the UK. We will contact you by email if we receive an interview request letter and will tell you what you need to do next.

We make special arrangements each summer for Pre Sessional students who need a new visa for their main degree programme at Aston. You will not need to book an appointment to see an adviser for help with your extension application and we will normally arrange a workshop through your school office instead.

Not all Tier 4 students can bring their dependants to the UK with them. You will normally only be able to have dependants with you in the UK if you are studying at Aston for a postgraduate course that lasts more than 12 months or you are a government sponsored students studying for a course that lasts at least 6 months. There are some other special circumstances in which dependants that currently have or have recently had permission to be in the UK as a Tier 4 student’s dependant may also qualify but this is rather complicated and you should contact us for further advice.

If you dependants are in the UK with you and will be applying to extend their visas at the same time as you, you will be able to include them in your Tier 4 (General) online application. It currently costs £305 per dependant to apply online and send documents by post and £705 for each dependant when you apply in person at a Public Enquiry Office. The visa application fees will increase from 6th April 2014 so that it will cost £422 for each dependant to apply online and send documents by post and £922 to apply in person at a Public Enquiry Office.

You will need to show that there is enough money available to cover your dependants living costs in addition to your living costs and the tuition fees for your course. You will need to show that this money has been available throughout a 28 day period that ends no more than one month before you apply for your visa. The money must be held in an account in your name and/or the dependant’s name and this includes joint accounts. You cannot use money held in an account that is solely in your dependant’s name as evidence that you have enough money to meet your own maintenance requirements for your Tier 4 application.

The amount of money you and you dependants will need to show each month for your application will increase in July 2014. If you already have a Tier 4 General visa and are applying for a visa extension then you will probably need to show that there is at least £900 (£920 from July 2014) available for each dependant’s living costs. If you have completed less than 6 months of your current course at Aston University, or have just completed courses of less than six months' duration then you may need to show that there is £4,050 (£4,140 from July 2014) available for each dependant’s living costs.

For example:

If your partner and child are in the UK as your dependants, you are applying to extend your visas together and you have already completed more than 6 months of your current postgraduate course at Aston you would need to show a total of £3,400 for you and your dependants’ living costs (£1,600 for you and £900 for each dependant). You will also need to show that you have enough money to pay your tuition fees.

If you are a new student who already has a Tier 4 student visa and wants to extend your visa from inside the UK, we can still help you with your visa application.

You will need to make sure that you make your application to extend your Tier 4 General student visa as soon as possible. If your current Tier 4 student visa has been sponsored by your previous university, college or school the we not be able to enrol you as an Aston student unless we can show that you have already made a new visa application using your Aston CAS. We highly recommend that you use our Check and Send service so that we can verify that your application has been sent and so that we can also provide certified copies of your documents for enrolment.

You can use the completed example as a guide to help you to complete your online application but your answers to some of the questions may need to be a little bit different. Don't worry if you are not sure about any of the answers, just answer as best as you can and make sure you save your application (but don't submit it!) Once you have your CAS number and have filled out your online application, an adviser can check the online application for you and also check your supporting documents. You can arrange an appointment with one of our visa advisers by calling the Advice Zone on 0121 204 4567 or 0121 204 4007.